By: Justin Boone
jboone@ticats.ca
Practice began with sunny skies and sweltering heat, on Sunday, as fans were given a chance to see a very early version of the 2008 roster in action at the annual Black and Gold Day.
It was a different feel to the day all around, as fans were able to take in the game from the new grand stand at Ron V. Joyce Stadium. They were also entertained by head coach Charlie Taaffe, who decided to switch things up this year and take a cordless microphone out onto the field during the controlled scrimmage.
“You always have to have a backup plan career-wise,” joked Taaffe, before explaining the rationale behind his decision. “We weren’t full scrimmaging, so I wanted to let the fans know what situations we were working on and what we were trying to accomplish, and to get them involved.”
Always quick with a one-liner, Taaffe had his fair share during the afternoon. He has the look of a man much more comfortable in his surroundings in his second year at the helm.
“Last year I didn’t really know anybody, I didn’t know the players and they didn’t know me, plus the Black and Gold Day happens fairly early in training camp,” Taaffe admitted. “This year I’m more settled, knowing who our core players are, and working in our new guys. It also helps having two coordinators I have a lot of faith in.”
On top of handling play-by-play and colour commentary duties all by himself, fans were also able to hear Coach addressing players, one of which was sophomore J.P. Bekasiak, who is in the process of learning a new position and some new rules associated with that spot. Not only does the former defensive lineman need to remember his offensive line playbook, but he also needs to content with a the brand new CFL rule, that forces lineman to report to the referee when they are coming in as an eligible receiver.
“Coach Taaffe thought I didn’t report one time and called me out in front of a thousand people,” said Bekasiak with a smile.
Had something like that happened in his rookie season, he would have been embarrassed, but being in your second season has its advantages, including increased confidence in knowing you belong in the league.
“It’s a lot different this season,” explained Bekasiak. “In your second year you know what to expect, you know most of the coaches, you know a lot of the returning vets, and you’re not a rookie anymore, you know exactly what to do and you can concentrate on playing football instead of everything else.”
Bekasiak is one of seven players from the ’07 draft that are in training camp, along with offensive linemen Jordan Rempel and Eric Ince, fullback Robert Pavlovic, linebacker Nick Kordic, defensive end Adam Kania, and the first overall selection from a year ago wide receiver Chris Bauman.
Bauman missed last season’s Black and Gold Day due to pre-season injuries, so he was eager to get into some game situations in front of the Ticats faithful this year.
“Other than the heat, it was good to get out there in some game situations,” he said. “I feel like there’s a lot of energy with the team. We have a real motivated energetic group.”
After a season that saw him catch 30 passes for 370 yards, Bauman hit the gym and added some extra muscle to help with his new position of slotback.
“I’m just trying to adjust to my weight right now, but it’s definitely helping my confidence out. If you have the confidence to go over the middle, then you’re going to watch the ball in the whole time, and come down with more tough catches.”
Bauman showed his new found ability between the hashmarks, by pulling down a couple passes in heavy traffic during the scrimmage. It’s the kind of play the team envisioned him making when they drafted him a year ago.
“We’ve had some good drafts and obviously we must have made the right selections cause a lot of them are still here,” said Taaffe. “That’s a big part of building our Canadian depth and in my opinion our Canadian talent has been very good.”
When asked if he would consider sporting the mic for a game at Ivor Wynne Stadium, Taaffe chuckled at the idea.
“I don’t know about that. It’s a little different when the real bullets are flying on gameday.”
The “real bullets” begin flying this Thursday June 12, at 7 p.m. against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
